This story was delivered to BI Intelligence Apps and Platforms Briefing subscribers. To learn more and subscribe, please click here. Consulting firm Accenture has announced a partnership with artificial intelligence software company, IPsoft, aimed at spurring the use of AI in the enterprise, ZDNet reports. The deal will see Accenture integrate IPsoft's AI program, Amelia, into a new business unit called Accenture Amelia. Amelia is similar to other virtual assistants such as Apple's Siri or Amazon's Alexa, however, IPsoft's program is reportedly more expressive and capable of showing empathy than other programs.

Management consulting company Accenture has teamed up with IT automater IPsoft to launch an artificially intelligent agent called Amelia, who has been designed to encourage companies to embrace machine learning. Similar to Apple's Siri, Amelia will tackle client queries in "conversational" language, answering questions and managing processes. For example, she is able to help customers open bank accounts, or check out insurance policies. She will also be on hand to help employees within businesses, providing internal services like HR and guiding staff on company policies. As well as boasting natural language capabilities, Amelia has an element of machine learning - meaning she can be taught how to carry out various functions, like answering calls, via a simple uploading process.

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Accenture has announced what looks like a major step forward in the use of artificial intelligence (AI) within IT and business process operations by forming a new practice with IPSoft. Accenture will set up an Accenture Amelia practice to'develop go-to-market strategies, solutions and consulting service offerings around deployments of virtual agent technology'. The aim is to focus initially on clients in the banking, insurance and travel sectors. Last November, Accenture also announced an investment in AI at its Centre for Innovation in Dublin to help clients to'accelerate the integration of intelligence and automation to transform their businesses'. IPSoft is one of a group of technology providers emerging in the AI/cognitive learning space, which we discuss in our reports into Intelligent Automation (see Business Process Automation – what is Intelligent Automation? and work back).

Accenture and IPsoft announced the creation of an Accenture Amelia practice, designed to help accelerate client adoption of artificial intelligence, which can lead to improved business outcomes and help create new growth opportunities for businesses. Accenture will utilize IPsoft's Amelia platform to develop go-to-market strategies, solutions and consulting service offerings around deployments of virtual agent technology for clients across several industries with initial focus on banking, insurance and travel. Accenture's Technology Vision 2016--research that gathers input from more than 3,100 business and IT executives across the public and private sectors, academia, venture capital firms and entrepreneurial companies in 11 countries and 12 industries--found that 70 percent of corporate executives are making significantly more investments in artificial intelligence related technologies than two years ago, with 55 percent stating that they plan on using machine learning and embedded artificial intelligence. The formation of the Accenture Amelia practice further expands existing collaboration with IPsoft and builds on Accenture's own artificial intelligence capabilities and efforts; including the recently announced accelerated research and development agenda in artificial intelligence across its global network.

Move over, Siri and Tay, and make room for a new female virtual agent set to invade the enterprise: Amelia. Things are happening fast in the new world of artificial intelligence (AI) development, and a new industry partnership just announced today aims to help enterprises adopt the complicated and potentially game-changing technology with Amelia. Accenture, a professional services consultancy, is teaming up with IPsoft, an autonomic and cognitive computing specialist that invented Amelia, "to accelerate client adoption of artificial intelligence to improve business outcomes and create new growth opportunities for their businesses." The importance of AI in the enterprise -- along with ancillary technologies like machine learning (ML) and cognitive computing -- was highlighted recently by no less than Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg in keynote addresses at their respective developer conferences. Their companies are helping to spearhead AI programming, with early efforts centered around bots, or chatbots, or virtual agents.

No sooner than one global consulting giant has jumped on board with the latest technology trend, another follows suit. Accenture is launching an artificial intelligence practice just a week after PwC did the same with drones, in a bid for a share of the multi-billion dollar and fast growing industry. The Amelia practice, named after the AI software from IPsoft with which it has partnered, will work with clients on integrating AI technology into their business, initially focusing on the banking, insurance and travel sectors. "Artificial intelligence is maturing rapidly and offers great potential to reshape the way that organisations conduct business and interact with their customers and employees. At the same time, executives are overwhelmed by the plethora of technologies and many products that are advertising AI or cognitive capabilities," said Accenture chief technology officer Paul Daugherty.

Accenture has expanded its partnership with IPsoft to accelerate the adoption and implementation of artificial intelligence technologies. As part of the relationship the team will launch the Accenture Amelia Practice, a new consulting arm for Accenture which will develop go-to-market strategies using the IPsoft's product offering to build virtual agent technology for customers. In the first instance, the team will target the banking, insurance and travel industries. "Artificial intelligence is maturing rapidly and offers great potential to reshape the way that organisations conduct business and interact with their customers and employees," said Paul Daugherty, Accenture's CTO "At the same time, executives are overwhelmed by the plethora of technologies and many products that are advertising AI or Cognitive capabilities." "With our new Accenture Amelia practice, we are taking an important step forward in advancing the business potential of artificial intelligence by combining IPsoft's world-class virtual agent platform with Accenture's broad technology capabilities and industry experience to help clients transform their business and operations."

This article, co-authored by Harvey Lewis, research director at Deloitte UK, unveils the possibilities presented by artificial intelligence. In the 2015 film, "Ex Machina", the character Nathan Bateman, an archetypal eccentric billionaire, suggests that "one day the AIs are going to look back on us the same way we look at fossil skeletons on the plains of Africa. An upright ape living in dust with crude language and tools, all set for extinction." Given the surge of interest in artificial intelligence (AI) in recent years, fueled by big data and ever more sophisticated algorithms and hardware, it should come as no surprise that famous entrepreneurs and even eminent scientists in the real world are asking whether computers could one day threaten the survival of humankind. Governments and businesses around the world are continuing to invest billions of pounds in the technology.

Accenture have announced a partnership with IPsoft, the creators of the cognitive agent Amelia. The two firms will collaborate to create the first Accenture Amelia practice, designed to accelerate client adoption of artificial intelligence to improve business outcomes and create new growth opportunities for their businesses. Accenture will utilize IPsoft's Amelia platform to develop go-to-market strategies, solutions and consulting service offerings around deployments of virtual agent technology for clients across several industries with initial focus on banking, insurance and travel. "Artificial intelligence is maturing rapidly and offers great potential to reshape the way that organizations conduct business and interact with their customers and employees. At the same time, executives are overwhelmed by the plethora of technologies and many products that are advertising AI or Cognitive capabilities," said Paul Daugherty, Accenture's chief technology officer.